Summer Vacation

Tis the season for summer vacations.  What began as the unofficial official beginning of summer with Memorial Day weekend will now continue through Father's Day - through the 4th of July - all the way till we reach Labor Day weekend.  I hope you will take time during these three months to get away and get some much needed rest and relaxation.  But as you do, don't forget to worship in church and keep the Sabbath.  It can be fun attending different churches when you are out of town - out of state - out of country.  My wife and I like to attend other denominations when we are on vacation.  This week I was reading Charles Neal's weekly Monday Morning Reflections and he addressed this topic saying that we always need to keep the Sabbath because worship is the lifeline that keep us sane.  In his blog, he writes, "The reason worship is central to keeping Sabbath is the lifeline that keeps us sane is grounded to the one who created us."  It is always good to stay grounded.  This summer, enjoy your vacation time, but also enjoy the new places where you can go and worship God.  What a wonderful way to meet new brothers and sisters in Christ while keeping your priorities in the right direction.  Have a wonderful and happy summer! - Dennis W. Flaugher 

The Mile Marker of Work

Last Sunday was our 3rd Sunday in Lent and the mile marker we stopped at along our journey with Jesus to the cross was the mile marker of "work", which meant the work of servanthood. According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus came to be the sufering servant who would die on the cross for the sins of the world, that through the shedding of his blood, we find the cleansing power of redemption for our human soul. To follow Jesus, means that we also must share in his suffering, and for us, this is the work of sharing in the sufferings of others.

As you travel your journey this week, be attentive and sensitive to the suffering of others around you. It may be the physical suffering of one recovering from surgery, or the mental and emotional suffering of one who has lost a job, or the spiritual suffering of one who feels disconnected from the God they love and have worshipped for years. What can you do? You can't solve their suffering, but you can help and here are a couple of suggestions. 1st, give your time just to listen. This allows for a validation of their suffering. 2nd, pray for them. They need our prayers.

In a culture where immediate relief is our goal, there is some suffering that just needs time for healing to take place. Just being there so people know you care, and offering your prayers for God's miraculous ways to do what we cannot do for others may do more than all the words of wisdom we feel compelled to share. I pray that God will guide you on your continued journey. Always, let us pray for each other.

Dennis

The Mile Marker of Self-Esteem

Yesterday was the 2nd Sunday in Lent and we arrived at our first mile marker on our Lenten Journey, and that mile marker is Self-Esteem. The scripture text we used was Mark 11:1 - 11 which tells the story of Jesus last week when he entered Jerusalem. The crowd shouted Hosanna and was ready to make him king, but if Jesus wanted to score points with the religious establishment he ruined that opportunity when he chased the money changers out of the Temple in the following verses of the story.

The truth is that Jesus wasn't concerned about his popularity. His sense of self - esteem was never driven by the winds of populist opinion. Jesus was driven by a sense of his own calling from God. His self-esteem was defined by his relationship with his heavenly father and the calling upon his life. As we continue past this first mile marker of our Lenten journey, it would be wise for us to ask, "What is it that drives my sense of self-worth? Is my self-esteem defined by what others have to say about me, or by what God says to me?

I suppose it depends on whose voice you listen to, doesn't it. May God give us all "ears to hear" his voice as we continue this journey.

Dennis

Journey to Hope Sermon Series

Yesterday was the first Sunday in Lent and I just began in traditional worship a new sermon series called, Journey to Hope. The outline of the series is taken from United Methodist Communications and although it is written with young adult audience in mind, I am adapting it to fit people of all ages. As part of the sermon series, I will be using my blog each week to interact further as we make this journey together.

Yesterday, we used the Gospel of Mark text in 10:13-16 when Jesus greeted the little children and said, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs." While this passage is often used to celebrate the life of children in the kingdom, in God's eyes, we are all children of his kingdom. Like little children, we stumble and fall from time to time, and like little children we need a heavenly parent who can pick us up and dust us off so that we can continue our journey. This week, think of a time when a friend lifted you up when you were down. What difference did that make in your life. Maybe this is a good week to give them a call - or email - or snail mail - or twitter or text or tweet - however you communicate. Maybe this week is a week to say "thank you" all over again. We all do need someone beside us to help pick us up when we fall.

Emily Kimbrough said it best - "Remember, we all stumble, everyone one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand."

User Friendly Witnessing

While the 4 gospels depict a Jesus as a person not always popular with the religious establishment of his day, the overall populace found Jesus quite appealing. One can speculate as to why - perhaps his ability to heal the sick and cast out demons - or his amazing teaching as one who had real authority; but I think the reason Jesus drew such a following was the simple fact that he was the kind of person that others just liked being around. For us to be followers and imitators of our Lord, it would help if we could be the kind of people that others just liked being around. In his classic writing, The Power of Positive Thinking, author Norman Vincent Peale lists ten rules, a kind of spiritual cadence if you will, in how we can become the kind of people that others enjoy being around. Do this, and your witness will be respected.

1. Learn to remember names.
2. Be a very comfortable person so there is no strain in others being with you.
3. Acquire the quality of a relaxed, easy-going manner in how you talk and listen.
4. Don't be egotistical. Be humble.
5. Cultivate the quality of being interesting so people will want to be with you.
6. Study to get the "scratchy" elements out of your personality.
7. Don't hold grudges.
8. Practice liking people.
9. Never miss an opportunity to say a word of congratulations or share a sympathy.
10. Get a deep spiritual experience so that you have something to give to people.

Twelve Days of Christmas

Did you know that the famous Christmas song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is now believed by a number of historians to be a hymn incognito? During the reign of England's Queen Elizabeth I, who happened to be a very staunch Protestant, Catholics were not allowed to many of the privileges that once were afforded them. An unknown clever priest found a unique way to teach the essentials of the Catholic faith to Catholic children by disguising their beliefs in a hymn we now know as "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Here is what the symbolism once meant.

True Love gave to me - what God the Father gives to believers.
Partridge in a Pear Tree - Jesus crucified on the cross.
Two Turtle Doves - The Old and New Testaments.
Three French Hens - Faith, Hope and Love.
Four Calling Birds - Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
Five Gold Rings - The first 5 books of the Bible, the Pentateuch.
Six Geese a Laying - Six days of creation.
Seven Swans a Swimming - Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Eight Maids a Milking - Eight Beatitudes found in Matthew 5.
Nine Ladies Dancing - Nine choirs of angels.
Ten Lords'a Leaping - Ten Commandments.
Eleven Pipers Piping - Eleven Faithful apostles.
Twelve Drummers Drumming - Twelve Articles of the Apostles' Creed.

I hope you think about these twelve gifts of Christmas beginning with Christmas day and the eleven days that follow Christmas. Let it be a time to reflect on the gifts that God has given us, and be thankful. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

- Dennis

What is a Tithe

The first New Testament "Tithing Parable" is told by Jesus in Matthew 25. He tells the story of three men who each receive differing amounts of money from their Master. To one is given $5,000 - to another $2,000 - and yet to another $1,000. The servants who receive the larger amounts double their investment, but the one receiving the least amount simply digs a hole and buries it in the ground, driven mostly be fear and the knowledge that his Master demands much from all his servants. When you read the Master's response in verse 27, he disciplines the servant for not putting his money in the bank to draw interest. The point - the Master demands an interest from how his money is invested.

This is what it means to tithe. A tithe is 10% of what you make given back to God. God commands us to tithe our 10% and live only on 90% of what we earn, which is a more explicit way of saying that God demands interest from the money we are given to invest: and all the money we make is possible only because of the God-given skills and abilities we are given by God with which to make money. Hence, it all is God's. What matters is that we return the interest - 10% - back to God when we make money. So, how can we practice the tithe in a practical manner? There are diverse views.

Some churches teach that all 10% of our tithe should go to your local church, and anything you give beyond that 10% is real giving and should be to chartible causes. Other churches, like the United Methodist Church, advocate splitting your 10% tithe between church and charity, but how you split it is up to you. Still, the Roman Catholic church advocates more explicit direction - 5% to church and 5% to charity. This is often called the "Catholic Tithe". My advice, as a United Methodist pastor, is to invoke 2 Cor 9:7 and make up your own mind on what you give-giving cheerfully.

In today's economy it is difficult for people to give what they do not have, and some cannot tithe due to economic restraints and expenses that outweigh revenues. In the body of Christ, those who can help those who cannot; so in your church, where ever you worship, if you can give more than what is required, do so; so that you may help make up the difference for those who cannot do what is required.

That is not fair - you say! God never said life is fair. God did tell us to bear one another's burden and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)